Nightmare, My Nightmare
by Nekosblackrose
Summary: It was just a small prank. That's all it was. But something seems to be taking it seriously. Loki and Tony are roommates, and when Loki plays a small, seemingly harmless prank on Tony he sets off a ghastly string of happenings. First the nightmares that leave behind real wounds and then the changing reflections in the mirror! What is going on! (Set in a college AU)
1. Prologue: A Small Prank

**A/N: I know, I know. I should go and finish my FrostIron chapter fic…but I just had to write this! I really hope you guys enjoy it.**

**WARNING!: This is a horror fic, so be prepared for frightening imagery and sequences. **

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Prologue

A Small Prank

Loki frowned as he pulled what was supposed to be a lacy undergarment from between the cushions of the couch. It looked more like dental floss than anything else. He sighed and rubbed his eyes with the hand not holding the offending material. He balanced the thong on one finger and went to Tony's closed door. He knocked and waited for a few moments before the door swung open. Tony looked up at him with a pencil between his teeth and a quirked eyebrow.

"One of your conquests left you a token," Loki said dropping the thong onto the eraser end of the pencil in Tony's mouth. The shorter brunette pulled the thong from his pencil and examined it.

"I have no idea which one these are from," He said before tossing them into the trash bin inside his room. "Having fun cleaning?" Loki rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe.

"Hardly," He said crossing his arms. "You could come out of your little hole and help me if you felt so inclined." Tony threw his head back and laughed.

"Not a chance, Silver Tongue," He said smirking. Loki sneered at the nickname. He pushed away from the doorframe and Tony shut the door to resume whatever project he was working on now. Loki sighed and resumed his cleaning. Tony was the king of making messes while Loki was the king of OCD. One would think that they would be the worst roommates ever, but they worked rather well together. Their friends were thoroughly surprised at just how well they coexisted.

Whenever one of Tony's conquests stayed over, Loki would make them coffee and breakfast before sending them on their way with a charming smile. Sometimes one of Tony's one-nights would come back to have a go with Loki, or one of Loki's would have a swing with Tony. It didn't bother either of them, for they liked the fact that the girls couldn't resist them. Once Loki would send Tony's conquest away he would knock on Tony's door and give him the all-clear. Loki was kind enough to send his own one-night lovers away himself; though it was tense he played it out smoothly.

That wasn't the only way they worked well. Where Loki excelled in Literature and Communications, Tony excelled in Science and Mathematics. Their study sessions consisted of banter and heady arguments that somehow led them to understand each others' subjects. No one understood how they got anything done, but they always did. Sometimes Bruce Banner would join them and that would only add to the fun.

Loki was putting dishes away when he spotted the flashlight on the microwave and an idea came crawling into his head. Sure, it might've been a bit cruel, but he knew it would work thanks to Tony's imagination. He smirked and grabbed the flashlight before moving to knock on Tony's door. IT swung open sooner this time and Loki held up the flashlight. Tony quirked his eyebrow.

"What?" He asked, noticing the sly smirk on his roommate's lips. "Okay. This is going to be good. Come in, sit down and spill." Loki chuckled and walked into Tony's room. He sat down in Tony's desk chair and spun it around to face the bed where Tony plopped down. Tony's room was a mess of dirty clothes and papers.

"You know the tradition of Bloody Mary, correct?" Loki asked. Tony frowned in disappointment.

"Yeah, but I thought you had something better to tell me than that," He said. Loki's smirk widened and he nodded.

"Good. Then you will understand the basics of what I am about to tell you," He said gingerly setting the flashlight down on the desk where both of them can see it. Tony props himself up on his elbows, his interest piqued. "In the game of Bloody Mary you place your hands on the mirror and say her name three times and she will appear. Now, with this little game something else happens. There must be two people in the room-one to hold the flashlight and stand before the mirror, the other to whisper the events that will soon happen." He paused and watched Tony's face, seeing the interest sparking underneath his dark brown eyes. "Would you like to try it?" He asked, holding out the flashlight.

"Sure, why not?" He said sitting up and grabbing the flashlight.

"We will use your bathroom," Loki said standing. Tony nodded and strode into the bathroom with Loki close behind. He flicked on the light only to have Loki flick it back off.

"Hey!" Tony exclaimed going to turn the light back on. Loki grabbed his wrist and shook his head.

"No. That stays off," He said turning Tony to face the mirror. "Now turn on the flashlight and shine it at the mirror." Tony glared into the mirror at Loki. "Tony, you said you wanted to do this." Tony wouldn't admit it, but he was a bit frightened. Looking at mirrors in the dark had always seemed creepy. It was like someone else was looking in at him. "Well?" Loki pressed.

"Okay, okay," Tony said rolling his eyes. He shined the flashlight at the mirror and it illuminated both him and Loki. "Okay, so now what?"

"Put your hand on the mirror," Loki instructed. Tony rolled his eyes again and did as he was told. "Now listen closely." Tony nodded. "Your eyes lock on your reflection and you cannot move. You notice things about yourself changing. Your eyes becoming red with malice. Your hair growing longer and changing to a lighter golden." Tony gulped and tried hard not to rip his hand away from the mirror as he saw the things Loki was saying start to happen to his reflection. "Your reflection begins to grin at you. It tilts its head and moves closer. You can't help but move closer as well." Tony leaned forwards towards his reflection. "Your reflection laughs and says 'Why hello, Anthony.'"

"Fucking shit!" Tony exclaimed, jumping back from the mirror and crashing into Loki. The taller man laughed as he caught him to keep from falling. Tony scrambled for the light switch, turning it on as quickly as he could. He panted as he looked into the mirror, making sure that it was still him reflected there. "Shit! Never again and I letting you talk me into this!" Loki chuckled and shook his head.

"It's just a prank, Tony. Your imagination showed you what I was telling you, that's all," He explained as they left the bathroom. Neither of them noticed the man that slowly appeared in the mirror and turned to watch them.

"Well, well…it's about time I got to play with you, Anthony dear," He said giggling.

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**A/N: Well…I had fun with this :D The person that appeared in the mirror is Tony's 2P. A 2P is like an evil alter ego that is basically the complete opposite of the original character. I'm not going to go into too much depth with the explanation because that would spoil upcoming events in the story! I just want you to understand the general idea. Anyway! I hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Chapter 1: No Sleep

**A/N: Let's get things rolling with chapter one and see how this goes :3 Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1

No Sleep

"_Those heart-hammering nightmares that start to lose coherence even as you're waking up from them, but they still manage to leave their moldering fingerprints all across your day."_-Mike Carey, 'The Naming of Beasts'

Bruce stared at Tony as he came shuffling into the classroom and took his seat beside him. The shorter man buried his face into his arms with a groan. It had been like this for weeks. The bags under his eyes were getting worse and when he would start to doze off in class he would startle awake with wide, frightened eyes. He was really getting tired of this skittish version of Tony.

"What is wrong with you, Tony?" He finally snapped, slamming his advanced physics textbook shut, making the other brunette jump. Bruce glared at him. "You've been jumping at every little thing and you look like you haven't slept in weeks, and not in the normal Tony Stark way." Tony sighed and rubbed his hands down his face.

"Ask Mr. Sarcasm over there," Tony said throwing his arm out in the general direction of where Loki would normally be sitting beside him. He turned and frowned. Why wasn't Loki there? He shrugged and turned back to Bruce. "A couple of weeks ago Loki talked me into doing this really twisted version of Bloody Mary and I've been having nightmares ever since." Bruce frowned.

"That's childish, Tony," He said shaking his head. "How the hell did that give you nightmares?" Tony sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"The lights were off and I was shining a flashlight into the mirror," He began in a whisper. "Then Loki started to speak like he was telling a story and the things he was saying started to happen in the mirror. They were just minor changes, like my hair and my eyes. Then…then the fucking reflection spoke! It _spoke_ Bruce!"

"Are you sure that it wasn't just your imagination, Tony?" Bruce said, his frown deepening. Tony groaned and dropped his head onto the desk. A shuddered sigh escaped him.

"I don't know," He admitted. "I don't know if I'm going crazy or it really did happen. It was so fucking _real_, Bruce." Bruce adjusted his glasses and leaned back in his chair. He knew that Tony and Loki had prank wars every now and then, but this was different. Something had truly spooked Tony. And that was rare.

"I think you need to talk to Loki," Bruce said. "Maybe he can help you. He was the one to execute the prank, wasn't he?" Tony nodded. "Then see if that helps." Tony sighed and glanced over at Loki's empty seat.

"We'll see," He mumbled before pillowing his head on his arms. He kept his eyes open.

It was at one in the afternoon that Tony knew for certain that something was wrong. It was rare that Loki ever missed a class and even rarer that he skipped out on lunch with him and the others at Subway. It was tradition. A tradition they'd had since they were freshmen. He would call before cancelling, and no one had heard from Loki all day. Tony was getting suspicious.

He ate lunch with the group (which consisted of Thor, Steve, Bruce, Clint and Natasha) and listened as each one stated their worry for their raven haired friend. When repeated phone calls led to an answering machine Tony decided to head back to the dorm and check on Loki. It wasn't a far walk, thankfully and Tony wouldn't have been able to drive in his state. He would have fallen straight to sleep and had a wreck. Then he would have gotten an earful from Daddy Howard. That would have really ticked him off. So, walking was his best bet. His and Loki's dorm was only three miles from the diner that held the usual Subway on campus.

The walk to the dorm was rather pleasant. There were large oaks that provided shade from the harsh late summer sun and cherry blossom trees in the small gardens outside of the dorms. Tony bounded up the stairs to the door of the dorm and swiped his student ID card. As soon as the light flashed green he swung open the door and walked into the lobby. Couches, chairs and tables littered the extent of the lobby. A flat screen TV was perched on the far wall playing reruns of South Park while a few of the younger students lounged on the couches and chairs to watch it. A ping-pong table was set up haphazardly in front of two vending machines (one held an array of sodas and the other held snacks). Beside those was a door that led to the laundry room, which sounded like it was currently in use. Tony bypassed all of this and loped upstairs to the third floor. He was in the middle of the second flight of stairs when he heard it.

An earsplitting scream echoed from the third floor making Tony jump. It sounded like Loki! He ran up the rest of the stairs two at a time and yanked his keys from his pocket. He ran down the hall towards the third door on the left-their room. He rammed the room key into the keyhole and twisted, shoving the door open. He stumbled in and was barely able to jerk his keys out of the door before it closed. He leapt over the couch and barreled into Loki's room. The door had thankfully been unlocked and came open easily.

"Loki!" Tony exclaimed. The man lying on his bed shot up into a sitting position, his eyes flew open and he gasped in great gulps of breath. He looked around the room in fear, his pale hands clutching at his covers. Tony threw on the bedroom light. Loki blinked and rubbed his eyes before he finally saw Tony. "Hey, you alright? I heard you scream while I was coming up the sta-…" He cut himself off and peered closer at Loki's neck. His dark eyes narrowed and he took a few steps closer.

"Tony? What?" Loki asked fearfully. His voice was strained a bit, like he'd just been strangled. Tony didn't say anything. He grabbed Loki's chin and tilted it upwards, moving his head from side to side to get a good view of his neck. His eyes widened.

"Loki…there are hand prints around your neck," He said backing up a couple of paces. Loki's brows furrowed.

"What?" He said moving his hands up to touch his neck. He flinched and his frown deepened. He threw the covers off of his legs and stood, moving over to the mirror that hung on the back of his bedroom door. His emerald green eyes widened in shock when he saw the bruises forming around his throat. "This is impossible!" He said in a hoarse whisper.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked warily, though he feared he already knew the answer. Loki turned to him and gulped.

"I was dreaming that I was being strangled," He admitted. "And not just that but punched and kicked by someone, but I couldn't see their face." He reached up and touched his cheek. He winced. There would definitely be a bruise there soon. He looked down at his naked torso and lifted his left arm to stare at the slowly forming bruises there. Then he lifted the right arm and the same thing was happening there. On his stomach, chest and back it was the same. He sat down and pulled up the pant legs of his flannel sleep pants to find his legs littered in bruises.

"You were asleep this whole time?" Tony asked his voice cracking. Loki looked up at him and nodded. It was Tony's turn to gulp. "You missed classes and lunch at Subway." He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting on the ground. "You couldn't wake up, could you?"

"No…I tried desperately, but…it was no use," Loki said, hiding his face in his hands. "The only thing that woke me was you calling my name." Tony nodded.

"The same thing has been happening to me…ever since you played that prank on me in the bathroom," He explained. "That guy that was me but wasn't me that I saw in the mirror? He's been haunting my dreams and I can't wake up unless someone calls my name." He took in a shuddered breath to try and calm his own nerves. It only worked a little bit. "He-…" A lump formed in his throat and the only thing he could do was pull his shirt up to show Loki the scabbed over stab wounds.

"Oh gods…" Loki gasped, covering his mouth with his hand in shock. "This is my fault! I just thought that it would be a little bit of fun…I didn't expect it to go this far…" He sighed and gripped his long hair. "This is insane."

"I know," Tony said lowering his shirt. "But we have to figure out a way to stop this." Loki nodded his agreement, but they could think of nothing. How could you stop a nightmare?

"How are you surviving this?" Loki asked finally.

"I don't sleep," Tony answered. He lifted his gaze to Loki and the other man saw the dark circles under his eyes. Loki nodded.

"I do not believe I will be sleeping either," He said shaking his head. Tony nodded. No sleep. For now…that would have to work.


	3. Chapter 2: To Tell Others

**A/N: SLIGHTLY EDITED! Oh my God of Mischief! I cannot believe I made this mistake! In the first chapter of this fic Loki says that he cannot see the man in his nightmares and here I actually have him describe him! I'm so sorry! That line has been edited and I thankfully did not need to change anything else.**

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Chapter 2

To Tell Others

"_Ninety percent of people's nightmares are standing in front of 1,000 people. Did you know that? And having to speak. You would have thought it would have been a madman tying you up and taking your eyes out."_-Robbie Coltraine

It had been three days since Tony had found out about the nightmares he and Loki shared. They would sit in the living area of their dorm playing videogames and slapping each other to stay awake. It was the only thing that worked now. They were almost overdosing on caffeine in order to keep themselves awake for twenty-four hours. Loki was even drinking multiple cups of coffee, and that was strange in itself, for he usually only had one per morning.

Bruce and the others were getting really worried. The circles under Tony's eyes were getting darker and he wasn't shaving. Loki was getting bad too. The beginnings of dark circles had started to form under the raven haired man's eyes and he didn't always pay attention in class.

That's what brought them to this. Bruce, Thor, Steve, Clint and Natasha were gathered in the living area of Thor and Steve's dorm room. Thor was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Someone must know what is going on with my brother and Stark," He declared, his fist striking the coffee table, making the cups shake. "Tony looks as though he is the walking dead and Loki is not far behind." Nods of agreement came from everyone.

"Tony told me a few days ago that he was having very realistic nightmares," Bruce informed. He shifted as all eyes fell on him. "He said they were brought on by a prank that Loki played on him."

"A prank brought this on?" Steve asked in disbelief. Bruce nodded.

"That's what it leads me to believe," He said. "It had something to do with a flashlight, a mirror and Loki telling him a story." Thor went rigid and still. It didn't even look like he was breathing.

"Did the story have to do with changes in Tony's reflection?" Thor asked. His voice was unnaturally soft and cold. Bruce nodded the affirmative. Thor took a deep breath and looked down at the ground. "As I so feared."

"This was brought on by a prank that had to do with a flashlight, a mirror, and a story that consists of changes in the person's reflection?" Clint asked, counting the things off on his fingers. Thor looked over at him.

"Aye," He said with a slow nod. "My brother liked to read about such things when we were younger. He never indulged in playing such pranks, but he still enjoyed reading about them. This particular one I remember because it was one he liked to research very extensively." He fell silent, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth nervously.

"Tell us more about it," Natasha urged gently. Thor shut his eyes for a moment before he went on.

"For this prank you need a dark room, a mirror and a candle or flashlight," Thor explained slowly. He opened his eyes but he kept them trained on his cup of coffee. "There are two people in the room only. The first hold the candle or flashlight up to the mirror and places their free hand on the glass. The second person begins to describe changes in the reflection of the mirror and then instructs the first person to move. The changed reflection will follow as though it really was their true reflection. Then the second person goes on to describe something that the changed reflection will say to the first person. That is usually the end of the prank."

"That's just an advanced version of Bloody Mary," Clint said leaning back on the couch and crossing his arms. "The only difference I see is the fact that you see a different version of yourself. Am I right?" They all turned to Thor once more.

"Yes, that's true," He said nodding. "But that different version is actually a psychopathic version. Like the worst nightmare of yourself."

"So…basically Tony's been plagued by nightmares of himself," Steve assessed. Thor nodded. "They must be pretty bad if he's staying awake to avoid them. But that doesn't explain Loki."

"Maybe he's having nightmares too," Natasha said leaning forward. "He was in the room with Tony considering he was the one playing the prank. Perhaps he's being plagued by nightmares similar to his."

"We're going to have to ask them," Steve said with a sigh.

"Bruce, you're the closest of us to Tony. Why don't you talk to them?" Clint suggested. Bruce looked around at the others and it looked like they were all in agreement. Thor looked hesitant, but he still agreed from the looks of it. He sighed in resignation.

"Alright, I'll do it," He agreed.

Finding Loki and Tony wasn't too hard. They were holed up in their dorm room with videogames and loads of caffeine. Call of Duty: Black Ops was the game of choice for the next few hours it seemed. It was Loki who answered the door, cradling a cup of coffee to his chest and sipping at it like it was tea. Tony was sitting slouched on the floor in front of the TV, waiting on Loki.

"What's up, Brucie?" Tony asked grinning, but it was a shadow of his normal grin. He was extremely worn out. It was evident in the way he kept nodding off and shaking his head to stay awake.

"You two need to tell me about that prank a few weeks ago," Bruce said firmly. Loki and Tony looked at each other. Loki nodded. Tony looked skeptical.

"We need his help, Tony," Loki said. "We can't fight this on our own." Tony sighed and nodded.

"Alright," He said dropping his controller. "I think we should show him too." Loki was slow to nod in agreement, but when he did Tony was on his feet and grabbing for the flashlight. Loki was already moving towards Tony's bedroom. Bruce's brows furrowed, but he followed. Tony went in behind him and motioned for him to go into the bathroom. Loki stood off to the side and held the flashlight out towards Bruce.

"Shouldn't there only be two people in the room?" Bruce questioned as Tony reached for the light switch.

"The number of people in the room has no effect on the prank," Loki informed. He moved to stand behind Bruce and Tony switched off the light. "Put your hand on the glass." Bruce did. "Listen closely. Your eyes lock on those of your reflection and you begin to see little changes. The eyes become tinted with green and the hair becomes matted and messy. Your reflection grins at you and tilts it head. You can't help but follow the motions. Then it says 'So you're Brucie.'" Bruce jumped back, crashing into Loki. Tony flipped on the light.

"That's what's causing your nightmares?" Bruce asked turning to Tony. The shorter brunette nodded. Bruce turned to Loki. "And what about yours?" Loki shrugged.

"I'm not sure," He said running his fingers through his hair. "I cannot see the man in my dreams. All I see is a silhouette that looks like me, but…not." Bruce leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms.

"I think that the prank is affecting you because you're the one who initiated it," He deduced. "I honestly think that it's just your minds playing tricks on you. I doubt that it's anything serious."

"But what about the bruises and cuts we get when we sleep?!" Tony exclaimed. "I thought that at first, but after I got these," He pulled his shirt up to show Bruce the healing wounds, "I knew something wasn't right."

"And when I was having a similar dream the only way I could wake was when Tony screamed my name," Loki said. "Not even being strangled by the man in my dreams stirred me. I had hand shaped bruises on my neck then." He pulled the high collar of his turtleneck sweater down to show Bruce the fading bruises.

"Have you ever considered that these are self inflicted?" Bruce suggested. Tony and Loki looked at each other before laughing mirthlessly.

"Oh sure! Like I'd take a fucking jagged edged knife to my own stomach!" Tony said with a strained grin. "And when I walked in on Loki's nightmare his hands weren't anywhere near his neck." Bruce sighed and looked down at the tiled floor.

"Alright. When did the nightmares start for you, Tony?" He asked turning his gaze back up to Tony.

"The night of the prank," He said instantly. Bruce nodded and thought for a few moments.

"Alright, here's what I think," He said pushing off of the counter and pacing within the small space. "I'll stay the night and see if I have a nightmare about what I just saw in the mirror. If I don't then it's just a figment of your imagination and that can be fixed. If it's not…well, we'll just wait and see." Tony and Loki nodded.

"You'll be sleeping on the couch then," Loki said leaving the bathroom with Tony close behind. Bruce looked at the mirror one last time and swore he saw his reflection change for a brief moment. He shook his head, casting it off as just a figment of his imagination and followed the two out of the room.

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**A/N: Well, looks like Bruce is now caught up in this. I hope you guys enjoyed it :3 Please review!**


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